


Repercussions

by ladyamesindy



Series: Commander Sian Shepard [10]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-12 00:57:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5648032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyamesindy/pseuds/ladyamesindy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Reapers have finally arrived and challenges must be faced, some with unexpected repercussions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Repercussions

 

“Shit!  What the hell is Cerberus doing on Mars?”  The tone was just as angry as it was demanding, and her sister’s voice now had Sian bristling nearly as bad as a raw recruit during their first day in basic as Liara found the controls and adjusted the air pressure so they could remove their helmets.  Her current mood and involuntary reaction would certainly make the inevitable fighting that was to come a whole hell of a lot easier, she thought.  

“I have no idea,” the Commander replied brusquely, common sense governing her response for the moment.  It wasn’t diplomacy that had Sian attempting to deflect Ashley’s reaction as much as it was practicality.  They were in the middle of fighting their way through the Alliance base on Mars, up against an unexpected opponent in Cerberus, as the Reapers currently invaded the galaxy.  The Reapers were currently focused on Earth, but Sian knew it wouldn’t take long for them to spread out throughout the system, and they _had_ to know that Mars held a human outpost too.  

But first things first: Cerberus was in the way.  And in order to defeat Cerberus, or at the very least get them the hell out of her way, Sian needed supplies.  Which was why she was busily searching through weapons, ammo and whatever else she could scrounge from the command center that might help their cause.  Because with Cerberus now so deeply and unexpectedly involved, who knew how long and drawn out it would be in order to fight their way through the base.  “Kaidan,” Sian called over, gesturing to a set of lockers on the far side of the room, “check for ammo and grab whatever you can find.”  She was currently elbow deep in a stash of grenades.

“Got it,” he replied.

Ashley’s grunt of frustration could hardly be missed.  “Dammit, Sian, quit changing the subject!  What the -”

Sian rose and turned on her sister, the movement quick and sharp, her green eyes flaring dangerously with barely constrained anger.  There was no _time_ for this.  “Ash, I. Don’t. Know!  Okay?  I swear, I would tell you if I did, but I don’t!  What the hell more do you want from me?  A signed affidavit attesting to that fact?  Notarized by the Defense Committee or something?”  Only her little sister could make the snark flow so easily from Sian’s lips.

Ash yanked her helmet off, clipping it to her utility belt in case she needed it again later.  “‘I don’t know’ is a convenient excuse,” the younger woman countered, her own voice dripping.  “Who’s to say Cerberus isn’t guiding your every step through this place, hmm?  Maybe you’re now their tool and they’re using you to -”

Sian spun around with a speed that had Liara jumping backwards from her position at the console.  Sian threw out her arm, heedless of the grenades still resting at her feet, her fist connecting solidly with the wall beside her, the resulting reverberations shaking the room around them and silencing all sound save the ventilation system’s humming wheeze.  “Back off NOW, Lieutenant Commander,” Sian spat icily, “or -”

But Ashley had too much of her own pent up frustrations tied into her reactions.  “Or what?  You’ll put me on report?  Bust me back to Chief?  Or, better yet, tell Mom?”

Practically nose to nose as they shouted at one another, Sian was just beginning to take on the light glowy aura she usually did whenever utilizing a biotic attack … when just as quickly it dissipated, and she doubled over at the waist ....   _laughing._  A full fledged, gut wrenching, belly laugh that nearly dropped her to her knees.  She shuffled back a step so that if she did drop, she wouldn’t land on the grenades.  “Oh, shit, Ash … really?” she managed after a moment, peeking a glance up at her sister while gasping for air.  “You’re bringing _Mom_ into this?”

Ashley’s face was still dark for about a half second before she, too, burst into a fit of the giggles.  “Okay … that was a low blow,” she admitted after a minute, “I’ll grant you that much.  But I’m not taking it back!”

Straightening, Sian forced herself into calming before she spoke again.  By the time she did, Ashley had done the same.  Green eyes met brown and stared for a long moment.  “I can think of one sure way to prove to you I am who I say I am,” Sian said more quietly.  

Ashley’s brow arched.  “Oh?”   _This ought to be good!_

Sian nodded.  Kneeling down, she bagged the grenades for later use, just in case, and then turned back to face Ash.  “You have a seven inch scar on your back right thigh from the time you and I went down to the creek while chasing Brian Sattersall after he’d tried to kiss you while arm wrestling.  You were fourteen at the time.  You jumped the tree lying across the path in one flying leap instead of topping it first to check below like I did, and when you landed you came down close enough to the trunk one of the broken branches gave you the long, deep gouge.  It took seven stitches to close it up and you complained long and loud each and every one of those three weeks you had them in.”

Ashley stared at Sian as she spoke, no visible reaction crossing her face until her lips pursed into a thin line and she let loose an agitated grunt while muttering, “Well, shit, Shepard!”  After a sigh of disgust escaped, she added, “What the hell were you doing with Cerberus in the _first_ place?”

The relief in the room was nearly palpable at that point, and Sian managed a smirk while handing over more than half the grenades to her sister, satisfied  that she would not become Ashley’s target for them.  “It’s a very long and very complicated story,” she replied.  Glancing over at Liara, she nodded for the asari to move ahead with the data she’d found on the computer console.  “And we’re gonna need time and a few bottles of something really strong to get through the telling.”

Ashley snorted, crossing over to Liara’s other side as the vid came up.  “Deal, but you’re buying,” she muttered in a final aside.

 

~ n ~

 

_“ASHLEY!”_

Horror rushed through Sian’s veins with a speed of a tidal wave and just as devastating results as Sian rounded the shuttle to witness the attack on her little sister.  Still, instincts honed by years of training had her raising her pistol and aiming at Dr. Coré without any conscious thought.  Coré turned towards Sian, launching herself with speed in the Commander’s direction.  Sian’s finger pulled the trigger repeatedly and managed to drop her only after a half dozen shots.  

“Commander, I hate to interrupt, but we’ve got Reapers incoming!” Joker’s voice broke across comms despite the staticky connection caused by the sandstorm now upon them.   

“Vega!” Sian shouted, gesturing towards Dr. Coré.  “Bring that thing with us.”  Only then did she turn to find Kaidan lifting Ashley’s unconscious form into his arms.  Their eyes met briefly and Sian could not miss the grave concern in his.  Swallowing tightly, she moved out of his way and over to assist Liara, still limping awkwardly while boarding the ship.  Only as the _Normandy’s_ hatch shut behind them did Sian catch a good look at the Reapers descending to the planet in the distance.  An icy chill like the one she’d experienced in Vancouver as they’d departed left her numb in its wake.  They were going to be in for the fight of their lives … and they might just be down one warrior they could ill afford to lose.  All thanks to Cerberus.

Racing to the med-bay, Sian entered to find Kaidan already getting Ash settled onto one of the gurneys.  “How is she?” she asked, yanking her helmet off and setting it aside for the moment before moving to assist him with the catches on Ash’s armor.

Without stopping his efforts, Kaidan replied tightly, “Not good.”

“We need to get to the Citadel,” Liara announced, moving over to help.  Sian glanced over at the asari.  “They’ve got specialists there who can help her.”

Nodding, Sian ordered, “Right.  Kaidan, do what you can for her.  Joker, get us to the Citadel, pronto!”

“Citadel.  Right,” the pilot called back.

“Commander,” EDI broke in a moment later, “I have Admiral Hackett on the QEC in communications.”

Sian drew her lower lip between her teeth.  She was torn - she _needed_ to speak with Hackett about what they’d found out on Mars - whatever _IT_ was - as well as alert him to Cerberus’ presence, but Ashley needed her right now too.

“Shepard.”

Liara’s voice was a soft and soothing balm in a sea of raging conflicting emotions just then.  Eyes meeting her friend’s, Sian forced herself to take a deep breath.  “Hmm?”

“Go talk to Admiral Hackett.  Kaidan and I will get Ashley comfortable and I will join you just as soon as I can,” Liara told her.

Sian’s eyes flicked over to Vega and the body of Dr. Coré that he’d unceremoniously dumped onto another gurney across the room.  “See what you two can get from that thing first,” she told Liara.  “Maybe that’ll give us _some_ thing we can give Hackett.”

Liara nodded.  “Of course.”

Sian then met Kaidan’s quick unreadable glance before she turned and ran out of the med-bay in the direction of the elevator.

 

~ n ~

 

Kaidan did all he could for Ashley, but his medical training was limited for the extent and severity of injuries she had received.  Still, it was better than the alternative, or so he tried to convince himself.  He ducked over into the galley after exiting the med-bay - James had promised to keep an eye on Ash - and found the basics for what he needed.  Ashley might be his only technical patient, but he knew that if he didn’t do something, he would have another: Sian.

Searching through the cupboards, he quickly discovered there were many differences to the _Normandy_ since he’d last been aboard.  In the end, he found what he need and only then made his way topside.  Stepping out into the CIC, he took a moment to get his bearings before turning to his right and heading to what they now called the War Room.  Chaos was an understated description to what was happening around him, but at least it was somewhat organized despite all its confusion.  Once he made it past security, he followed the hall to the War Room itself, entering through the doorway only as Liara exited.

“Shepard is in there,” the asari told him as she passed in a rush.

“Thanks.”  

He found her standing at the center display console, hands flat against the rail, eyes closed, chin tucked to her chest and shoulders sagging just a little.  He was not surprised when she spoke as if knowing he was standing right there, asking, “How is she?”

Carefully setting one mug of tea beside her hand, he turned to lean his hip against the console.  “As stable as I can make her,” he replied in his usual pragmatically honest way.  “I would feel much better if Dr. Chakwas was around, but I think Ash will be okay until we get her under professional care at the Citadel.”

Sian’s hand reached for the mug, lifting it slowly to her lips.  Her eyes remained shut, but he saw her nostrils flare just slightly, inhaling the scent as it neared.  He also noticed the small smile and heard her choked laugh before she took a careful sip.  It was a start in the right direction.  “Where on earth did you find Earl Grey?”

Chuckling, Kaidan replied, “I’m afraid it might be left from the last time we were aboard.  Somehow, I doubt ‘tea selections appropriate for Commander Shepard’ was high on the Alliance’s retro-fit list.”

Sian nearly choked on her next sip and took a step backwards to keep from spilling the liquid over the various electronics systems.  “Shit!” she hissed softly, but there was still a hint of a smile on her lips.

“You should change,” he told her next.  He waited for her eyes to finally open and find his before he smiled.  Nodding towards the door, he added, “And so should I.  Joker will get us to the Citadel as fast as he can, don’t worry.”

Sighing, Sian nodded and, he was glad to see, turned towards the door.  He followed just to make sure she headed towards the lift and not somewhere else.  She had a habit of checking on everyone else aboard ship before worrying about her own needs.  This time he would insist she take care of herself first if he had to.

They entered the lift together and she pressed the button taking them up to her cabin when she announced, “Hackett has had us both reinstated per Anderson’s suggestion.  Oh, and you’ve been promoted to Lieutenant Commander.”

Kaidan blinked.  That was unexpected.  “Promoted?” he echoed in bewilderment.  “I thought we were still awaiting a court-martial hearing.”

Sian snorted.  “I’d like to see them succeed with that after what we’ve been warning them about for the past three years finally showed up on their doorstep,” she muttered.  

The elevator came to a stop and he followed her off and into her cabin.  The only real changes here were in aesthetics rather than structure, but at least the color scheme was an improvement.  “I suppose you have a point,” he allowed.

“Besides,” she added as she began peeling off her armor, piece by piece, “you’ll need that rank if you are going to be my XO.”

He took a long, deep, startled breath at that announcement.  “XO?  Command is alright with that?”

“They damned well better be,” she retorted.  “My ship, my decision.”  The flare of emotion in her green eyes dared anyone to argue, he noted.

But still, it was completely unexpected, and for once he let his mouth get ahead of his brain.  “And if Ash were standing here instead of lying on that gurney in med-bay?”

Pausing, Sian turned back to face him.  Their eyes met, holding for a long moment with the space of half the cabin between them.  “You are still my choice for XO,” she insisted firmly.  “Your leadership experience trumps hers, Kaidan.  If she was here, maybe I’d start grooming her for the position.   _Maybe_.  But she isn’t and she won’t be ….”  Her voice broke and he watched her swallow hard for a second to recover herself.  “Not for a long while, anyway.  I need someone now, and your experience makes you perfect, Kaidan.  Add in that we’ve worked together before and I trust you, completely.”  She smiled at him.  “Find me someone who trumps that.”

He considered her words for a very long moment.  Logically, he knew she was right.  But logic didn’t always take everything into account.  “And what about this … thing between us?”

“It won’t get in the way,” she insisted.  “We won’t let it.  Look, we’re going to be lucky to find enough people at the Citadel to help crew this ship in addition to those who were still on board thanks to the retrofits - and that’s assuming I can convince _those_ people to stay on board once we dock after what they’ve been through.  I can’t afford to give up _ANY_ one.”

“Even me?”

“Especially you.”  Tearing off the last of the armor, Sian reached for a fresh t-shirt and pants from the nearby dresser.  Far from a perfect fit - the cabin had obviously been meant for someone else with a larger, broader frame - but it was close enough to do for now.  Her belt would hold the pants up and the bagginess of her t-shirt wasn’t too bad.  If necessary, she would requisition replacements when they got to the Citadel.  “Kaidan, I need you,” she repeated while pulling the the shirt over her head.  A moment later, her eyes met his again as she tucked the white shirt into the waistband of her pants.  “I thought you were in this for the long haul?”

Kaidan sighed.  “I am,” he assured her immediately.  “You know I am.  I’m just … you caught me off guard, Sian.”  He shrugged slightly.  “After everything that’s happened ….”

Sian closed the short distance between them.  He noted the small smile curving at her lips as she reached over and began releasing the catches on his armor.  “I know it’s a shock,” she murmured, “but you’ve more than earned it, Kaidan.  I wouldn’t insist upon it if you hadn’t, you should know that by now.”

Kaidan sighed, nodding, as he tossed the pieces of armor aside on the couch.  “I do,” he replied.  “But -”

Sian straightened and turned back towards the storage shelves to remove another t-shirt and pants, handing them over a moment later.  “But nothing.”  Facing him, she leaned her hip against the shelves.  “You have been with me from the beginning,” she reminded him.  “You’ve known for as long as I have just what we’re going to have to face.  You’ve seen it _first hand_ , both when we were fighting the Collectors and back on Earth.  I need someone who _knows_ , Kaidan.”

He was just fastening his belt when she stepped back in front of him.  He caught the slight curving of her lips and saw her eyes travel over his shoulders and chest in appreciation of the tight fit of the t-shirt and could not stop a quick flash of heat filling his cheeks.  “Shepard -”

Chuckling, she reached out and grasped his belt, pulling him close.  But to his surprise - and disappointment? - she merely kissed his cheek quickly before releasing him.  “You’ve had my back for a long time, Kaidan,” she told him quietly.  “And despite the Reapers’ arrival now reinforcing that we both were telling the truth, having you here also gives me peace of mind.”

His eyes met hers again, and he searched them for a long moment.  So much weight on her shoulders.  So many worries - now including her sister.  Reaching out, he pulled her close for a hug.  If being her XO would help ease the burden for her, he would do it.  No more questions.  “You know I’ll be here,” he finally assured her.  

Her arms slid around his waist and squeezed tight.  “Good.”

 


End file.
